Homeland Security may alter threat advisory system

Homeland Security Department Secretary Tom Ridge announced Friday that the country was no longer under a heightened state of alert and said future threat warnings might be targeted toward certain regions or industries as opposed to the entire country.

The national threat level has dropped to "code yellow," which means an elevated state of alert in the nation's five-color threat advisory system. However, a heightened state of alert remains at some airports and other sites nationwide, Ridge said.

"Although we've returned to yellow, we have not let our guard down," he said. "We will maintain particular vigilance around some critical resources and locales."

Ridge refused to say which sites would remain at a heightened state of alert. A Homeland Security official said the number of sites has been reduced from "several hundred" when the national threat level was increased Dec. 21, 2003 to "several dozen," and he predicted those sites will remain on heightened alert "for the next few weeks."

The official acknowledged that security at the nation's airports is still a priority.

"We remain concerned about al Qaeda's desire to target aviation, and we have instructed the aviation community to be on a heightened state of alert and keep in place some of the security measures that we had at code orange," he said.

The nation has gone to a heightened state of alert four times since the terrorist attacks of September 2001. Homeland Security is facing mounting pressure to focus future threat level increases on certain regions or industries, rather than issue a blanket alert for the entire country.

Rep. Jim Turner, D-Texas, ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, recently introduced legislation to restructure the threat advisory system so that it is sector and regionally based. The legislation also would require the creation of standards for raising and lowering threat levels. The committee will begin the daunting task of designing the first Homeland Security authorization bill when Congress resumes later this month.

Ridge acknowledged the possibility of restructuring the threat advisory system. He said the threshold for increasing the national threat level will be higher in the future because the country is stronger at code yellow than it was in the past, and the government can now target alerts.

"There is enough flexibility in the system to target regions or sectors," he said.

Focused threat warnings would help cities and states avoid the high costs that come with heightened states of alert, said David Heyman, director of science and security initiatives at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He estimates the government spends more than $1 billion a week when the national threat level increases. That sum includes regular expenses for the Homeland Security Department, along with extra direct and indirect costs faced by local and state governments, the private sector and the federal government.

Ridge refuted Heyman's estimate, however, saying the department will not know how much the last code orange alert cost state and local governments until governors and mayors announce their expenses.

"I have absolutely no idea the basis around which they drew the conclusion that the cost is $1 billion a week," Ridge said.